Fate: Nameless Hero

In the grand hall—

The many gathered Heroic Spirits had all fallen into silence.

Only the Golden King's unrestrained smile echoed through the chamber.

Gilgamesh's laughter faded, but the pride in his tone did not:

"Perfect. Since you've all just finished watching the video with this king, why don't you share your thoughts on my performance in the Singularity?"

Thinking you can avoid answering by staying quiet?

Impossible!

Gilgamesh had not forgotten that when the video began, he had wanted to leave—only for a crowd of Heroic Spirits to block his way.

After all, in Unlimited Blade Works, he had been disarmed by Nameless, his elbow severed, his heart pierced.

And in Oath Beneath the Snow, when Angelica borrowed his power, he had been turned into a… generously endowed version of himself—only to once again have his elbow cut by Nameless.

Exposure after exposure of humiliating moments. Everyone had been waiting to laugh.

And yet—

In Absolute Demonic Front, he had shone brilliantly, wiping away countless past disgraces.

All of it had merely been the black marks of his chūnibyō youth.

In his later years, however, he was the true Wise King.

Those who had once sworn they would never be his fans now barked like dogs at his feet.

It filled this king with trembling delight!

Go on, keep trying to laugh!

Come, continue—don't stop!

Mordred couldn't stop herself from rolling her eyes.

"Tch. What's there to be so smug about? So what if you had your moment, adored by thousands, worshipped by—"

She couldn't even finish.

Inside, she was screaming—

Ahhh, I'm so jealous!!!

That was way too much spotlight.

The followers he had lost before—now not only fully recovered, but multiplying wildly.

And just look at all those quotable lines and dramatic scenes—

"Even with only one life remaining, we will pass on the glory of Uruk to the generations to come!"

"A mere mortal wound."

…

Even Nameless had echoed him:

"Uruk still stands here!"

All over the world, the audience watching had begun to shout the same words.

For a moment—

Today, we are all Urukians!

Urukians, Uruk soul, Uruk stands above all!

Mordred just wanted to ask:

How are you allowed to show off like this?

In her videos with her father, every single scene had been one embarrassment after another.

She had looked forward to seeing this King of Heroes humiliated, only to be utterly slapped in the face instead.

It was infuriating!

Nearby, Jalter wore a nearly identical expression.

As the first Alaya had exposed to have ties with Nameless, she had not appeared in any later video.

She, too, had been eager to see Gilgamesh fall—only to watch nothing happen.

The only thing easing her mood was that—

Though she had thought embracing darkness meant she had been abandoned by the Lord—

She had unexpectedly heard His voice again.

It seemed there would be future videos involving her.

But she could only wonder—

Would they humiliate her like they had the Lion King and Young Gil? Or would they show her inspiring the people, like the Wise King?

Would she, too, have her elbow severed and her heart pierced by Nameless?

This left Jalter deeply uneasy.

It seemed that for every Heroic Spirit, the second video was always a humiliation.

Even the Golden King had been embarrassed twice in a row, disgraced before finally shining in Absolute Demonic Front.

The truth was—

Every gift that fate gives comes with its price, written in invisible ink from the start.

Komei coughed lightly:

"Your Majesty, your bearing in the previous video was truly admirable. Countless people praised you."

As a strategist, he understood perfectly well that the First Emperor had only gathered everyone here in hopes of seeing Gilgamesh embarrassed.

Now that he wasn't, it fell to him to smooth things over.

"Indeed, all thanks to His Majesty, for granting this king such a grand stage!" Gilgamesh's smile grew even brighter.

It had been Shikotei who had gathered the Heroic Spirits—providing him the stage to completely cleanse his past shame.

The Golden King's crimson eyes locked with another pair of crimson eyes.

Two rulers standing at the pinnacle of Heroic Spirits, their power rivaling that of gods themselves.

Everyone watched in silence.

They were strikingly alike—

Both equally strong, proud beyond measure.

Both born of ancient civilizations.

Many on the internet claimed they should admire each other, recognizing one another as kindred spirits.

Unfortunately, Gilgamesh knew well—the other man only wanted to drive him away.

Gathering all these Heroic Spirits to watch Absolute Demonic Front had only been to see him humiliated, to force him to leave Fuyuki, to leave Wei Gong's side.

But this king would not leave. He delighted in seeing that expression—wanting to expel him, yet unable to do so.

He would stay right here, just to infuriate him!

Shikotei rose calmly, meeting his gaze:

"Hero King, you truly are most impressive."

"Many thanks for the praise, Your Majesty!" Gilgamesh's smile was dazzling.

Anyone unaware of the truth might have thought they were old friends in perfect harmony.

"I have other matters. Hero King, feel free to remain."

Shikotei stood and departed.

Since Gilgamesh could not be embarrassed, there was no reason to stay.

Just looking at his smug face, practically bouncing with pride, was irritating.

So he had been in the spotlight for one Singularity.

Soon enough, there would be videos about the Emperor himself—outshining the King and making the world gaze upon his brilliance!

Once he had left—

Mordred muttered sourly:

"Don't get too cocky. Be careful the Mother Goddess you banished to the Imaginary Number Space doesn't show up to slap you in the face!"

"Haha, this king has fought all his life. Can he not enjoy himself for once?"

Having driven the Emperor away, Gilgamesh made no attempt to hide his delight.

It felt amazing!

As for Tiamat returning?

Impossible!

He had long since banished her to the Imaginary Number Space. There was no way she could emerge.

And if she did, the first one she'd look for would be that troublesome friend of his, not him.

Come to think of it—

Didn't Sanjiro once promise to find her? He had probably broken that promise by now.

Tch. My dear friend…

If Tiamat really did show up, there was nothing this king could do to help you.

The thought was… amusing, but best not dwelt on.

With Tiamat's overwhelming might, if she had not deliberately held back, even with Ea, he could not have defeated her.

Ea truly held the power to rend worlds—

But he could not unleash its full might.

Only an opponent on Tiamat's level could truly draw it out!

"Hmph!"

Mordred snorted, turning sharply to leave.

At the same time—

Jalter and the others all departed as well.

There was no helping it—he was too insufferable. Stay any longer, and they might be tempted to punch him.

And the problem was—they couldn't win!

In the blink of an eye—

The hall emptied.

Gilgamesh stood alone at its center. His smile slowly faded.

After the clamor—always came the endless solitude.

He exhaled softly.

"Siduri…"

The one he owed the most… was the devoted, gentle priestess.

He should never have let her go back then…

…

At the same time—

In the Tohsaka residence of Fuyuki City—

At the Tohsaka residence—

Rin stared blankly at the video, her face shifting between red and white, her composure utterly shattered.

"Ahhh! How can this goddess be so embarrassing? Does she dare embarrass herself even more?!"

She grit her teeth, wishing she could drag the culprit out and give her a good beating.

This was too humiliating!

She was supposed to be the goddess of beauty and war—so how could she be so useless?

Wait a second… Could she secretly be that blue-haired idiot goddess?

Damn it, Aqua!

Sakura tried to comfort her:

"Please calm down, sister! Grace! Elegance! Remember the teachings of the Tohsaka family!"

"I can't calm down! This is too humiliating. Once school starts, there'll definitely be a whole crowd whispering behind my back!" Rin fumed even more as she thought about it.

Everyone recognized that Ishtar was the goddess she was modeled after.

And now everyone had seen Ishtar practically waving a sign that said I Am a Useless Goddess.

That massive, mountain-sized Bull of Heaven—how in the world did she lose it?

Was there some alternate timeline where another version of her walked it away?

If she hadn't lost the Bull of Heaven, would Gilgamesh have needed to sacrifice himself, chaining Tiamat with Enkidu's shackles?

In the Singularity, Gilgamesh had stolen the spotlight. Surely he had gained countless new fans.

Which meant—

Ishtar was now publicly acknowledged as the Useless Goddess!

"But… why does it feel like Ishtar's failures are… just like you, sister…"

Sakura trailed off.

Her elder sister, the so-called perfect and flawless noblewoman, always seemed to fumble at the critical moment.

And that goddess of Uruk's Age of Gods had descended into the world by possessing Rin's body.

Could it be that the goddess had been influenced by her sister instead?

"No way!"

Rin immediately refuted the thought.

She was the perfect and elegant lady—how could she possibly affect a goddess with her so-called "fumble" attribute?

Grinding her teeth, she muttered, "Forget it. Gods can't even descend to the human world anyway. People will just forget this in time!"

This was beyond humiliating!

"True, sister, you can just—wait…?"

Sakura's words froze as she suddenly sensed an earth-shaking change in Rin's aura.

It was so powerful it made her tremble—power that shouldn't exist in the mortal world!

She took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm.

"May I ask… who are you?"

This aura absolutely belonged to a god!

Rin had just said gods couldn't descend—and yet here one was.

Just like when she had declared Ishtar would shine… and then lost the Bull of Heaven.

Only Rin could pull this off.

Should she ask her sister for lottery numbers next time?

The presence smiled gently:

"From the Sumerian myths, Mistress of the Underworld—I am Ereshkigal."

"Y-Your Grace!"

Sakura tensed even more.

No matter how gentle she appeared in the video, she was still the goddess of death.

The aura she had felt earlier was indeed real—Both divine sisters could descend into the world by possessing Rin's body!

"Don't worry. I mean you and your sister no harm. I am only here to fulfill a promise."

Ereshkigal's smile was warm.

"What kind of promise?"

Sakura grew even more nervous.

Was she… here to steal Shirou away?

"A promise I made with Nameless," Ereshkigal replied softly.

Light gathered in her palm—And within it, a tiny, ethereal figure slumbered quietly.

"This… this is Siduri's soul?" Sakura gasped in shock.

Back in the Uruk Singularity, 4,600 years ago—

Siduri, the high priestess, had known she was marching toward her death, yet she had gone without hesitation to save others.

The King of Heroes had seen the future, but still chose to let her go.

It was one of the most heartbreaking scenes of all.

She was captured by the monsters, transformed into a fearsome Lahmu.

But even then—

This gentle priestess, even as a terrifying monster, retained her kind human heart.

She never harmed a single person.

She even sacrificed herself to save Kingu!

If Absolute Demonic Front were ever adapted into a game, players as Chaldea's Master would probably encounter a Lahmu that never attacks.

They'd think it was just a harmless oddity—until killing it, only to later learn its story.

Even more tragic.

"Yes. This is the promise I made with Nameless."

Ereshkigal looked down at the tiny soul.

Back then, Nameless had once again entrusted her with preserving the soul of this priestess, beloved of her sister Ishtar.

By human reckoning, 4,600 years had passed.

With Alaya now releasing the exposure videos, she finally had the chance to descend to the world again.

To fulfill the promise she had made so long ago.

Hummm—

Ereshkigal blew softly.

A vast, mysterious power flowed forth, gathering around the soul.

It was the remnant of the power Nameless had left behind when he revived her with the Mother Goddess's creation.

The tiny soul swelled, expanding into a familiar form—

The high priestess, Siduri, stood before them.

She blinked in confusion at the two in the room.

"What… happened to me?"

Her memory was still at the moment she had thanked Kingu, right before her death.

"See for yourself."

Sakura picked up her tablet, playing the Absolute Demonic Front video.

After watching—

Siduri exhaled deeply, bowing in gratitude.

"Thank you, my lady, for giving me life once more."

No matter what, she had to thank this gentle goddess of death.

Without Ereshkigal's willingness to use her own essence to shelter her, her soul would have long since collapsed and vanished in the endless years.

"You need not thank me. This was my promise with Nameless."

Ereshkigal smiled softly.

She had agreed with Nameless, and so she would fulfill it.

Nameless had once said he had prepared a tremendous surprise for the King of Heroes.

Now, the surprise had arrived.

And after she delivered this surprise to the King—she would give Nameless a surprise of her own.

That infuriating man, always avoiding her!

====

At the Fuyuki City Grand Hotel—

At the very top floor, Gilgamesh was sipping wine from a golden goblet.

After the broadcast of the video, all of Uruk had turned into a sea of celebration.

Countless people were praising his strength and wisdom. But after all the glory came only endless loneliness and emptiness.

It made him consider dropping by at Sanjiro's place for a meal.

Not for food—but to chase away the solitude.

Perhaps that was why Sanjiro had taken in that terrifying little girl—simply too lonely and bored.

Just then, a messenger came in:

"My king, someone you know wishes to see you."